EASTON, Pa. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is accusing Northampton County of not cooperating with the turnover of a suspected Venezuelan gang member who was being released from the county prison last month.
ICE also suggests it's not an uncommon occurrence.
“Northampton County has a policy of not fully cooperating with ICE."The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a statement
“Northampton County has a policy of not fully cooperating with ICE," the agency said in a statement shared via the office of U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley.
The statement was attributed to an ICE spokesperson via the Philadelphia Field Office for Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations Public.
The office did not immediately respond to messages Friday seeking additional comment.
The statement comes on the heels of Mackenzie taking issue with the county policy that forbids ICE from county property without a warrant.
On Thursday, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure shot back, saying “We absolutely did cooperate with ICE” in regard to the case of Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, whom authorities say was in the country illegally.
He was arrested near Brownsville, Texas, in December 2023 and charged with entering the country illegally before being released on his own recognizance.
Last May, Bethlehem police charged him with indecent assault on a person less than age 16, and harassment. He was convicted in county court of harassment and sentenced to three to six months in county prison.
ICE began proceedings to deport Gualdron-Gualdron.
Referencing the release of Gualdron-Gualdron from the prison in Easton on Jan. 31, and his subsequent arrest outside by ICE, the federal agency suggested the county’s conduct could have led to an unpredictable event that could have been dangerous to the public, Gualdron-Gualdron, and the agents there to arrest him.
'Safer and more efficient'
ICE claims that the procedure would have been “safer and more efficient” if it had been able to assume custody of Gualdron-Gualdron “in a secure, private environment.”
While ICE had a detainer for Gualdron-Gualdron, it did not have a warrant.
“Detainers also conserve scarce government resources and taxpayer dollars,” the ICE statement reads.
“In this instance, ICE was forced to arrest this violent criminal outside the prison after Northampton County released the individual to the street.
"Thankfully, a team of ICE officers were able to quickly apprehend the alien without incident, shortly after his release.”
McClure signed an executive order in 2020 that states detaining immigrants requires law enforcement officers to have a warrant to make an arrest on county property.
Mackenzie called out the actions of the county and McClure on the U.S. House floor Wednesday, accusing them of implementing policy that promoted non-cooperation with federal agencies such as ICE.
McClure, a Democrat, countered Mackenzie’s commentary Thursday, accusing the first-term Republican congressman of intending to mislead the public about Gualdron-Gualdron.
Interagency communications
He said the county and ICE were in contact and the county agreed to hold Gualdron-Gualdron for an additional 48 hours. Another county official said that time was allotted to let ICE decide "whether they want to pick (Gualdron-Gualdron) up."
Said McClure: “We emailed ICE and told them he’s going to be released on the date and time he was going to be released.
“That’s the maximum amount of cooperation we can give within the context of the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions."
Mackenzie spokesman Arnaud Armstrong challenged McClure’s assertion Thursday, stating “most counties in PA do not follow this practice.”
Arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants in the Lehigh Valley have been scant.
But controversy over the federal push to deport those in the country illegally has sparked resistance movements in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, including some government officials pursuing designations for “welcoming cities.”
